Tannehill out
Ryan Tannehill has decided surgery can no longer be avoided. The Miami Dolphins quarterback will undergo an operation to repair the torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the entire season, a person familiar with the decision said Friday. The person confirmed the decision to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Dolphins hadn’t disclosed it publicly. Tannehill will be placed on injured reserve, the person said. Tannehill, who missed the final four games of last season with two sprained ligaments in his knee, reinjured it a week into training camp on Aug. 3. The Dolphins consulted with specialists before the team and Tannehill decided surgery was the best option. Tannehill opted not to have surgery after last season’s injury, and instead rehabilitated the partially torn ligaments and underwent stem cell treatments. Jay Cutler, who parted with the Chicago Bears after eight seasons, agreed to delay his fledgling network TV career and signed a $10 million, one-year contract Monday to replace Tannehill. Cutler, 34, might make his Dolphins debut in their second exhibition game next Thursday. Tannehill won the No. 1 job for Miami’s opener in his rookie season of 2012 and made 77 consecutive starts before his injury last season. He’s expected to be ready for the start of training camp next season.
Flacco back soon
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco will soon return to practice, but he won’t play in a game before the team opens the regular season on Sept. 10 at Cincinnati. The Ravens announced Friday that Flacco’s progress from a back injury is “good,” and that he will begin practicing in the preseason. The 10-year pro has not taken a snap at training camp. Meanwhile, the Ravens say offensive lineman Alex Lewis will miss the 2017 season with a shoulder injury. He will undergo surgery next week. Lewis played in 10 games last season. He missed one week with a concussion and was sidelined for five weeks with an ankle injury. Also on Friday, the Ravens revealed that
rookie Tim White will have season-ending surgery on his thumb. White, a rookie free agent out of Arizona State, scored a touchdown in Thursday’s victory over the Redskins.
Newton on mend
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is on the mend. Newton threw passes to receivers during an individual period early in practice on Friday, according to the
Charlotte Observer. However, Newton continued to be held out of team drills. Newton had shoulder surgery in March to repair a partially torn rotator cuff and had not thrown in practice other than light warmup tosses since July 30. He did not play in the team’s preseason opener Wednesday night against the Houston Texans. It’s unclear if Newton will play in the Aug. 19 preseason game against the Tennessee Titans.
Baylor gets order
A judge has ordered Baylor University to turn over documents from the investigation that found widespread mishandling of sexual assault cases, some involving football players. The materials have to be provided to attorney Jim Dunnam, a former state representative who’s representing several women who say they were raped while at the college, according to court documents. Baylor argued that the documents were subject to attorney-client confidentiality because the firm conducting the investigation, Pepper Hamilton, was doing legal work for it. Since Baylor has released parts of the Pepper Hamilton report, the judge ruled the school has waived its attorney-client privilege. Pepper Hamilton, a Philadelphia-based law firm, found “institutional failure at every level” at the world’s largest Baptist university, including employees who did not report cases they knew about or discouraged victims from moving forward with complaints. Amidst the controversy Baylor fired football coach Art Briles, ousted university president Ken Starr and accepted the resignation of athletic director Ian McCaw.